Much of Latin America is thriving ­— and no country more so than Chile. The economy has grown at an average rate of nearly 6 percent annually over the last three years despite turbulence in global markets and a devastating earthquake at home, putting Chile on track to become, within a decade, the first nation in the region to achieve developed-country status.

The country’s ascendance will be on full display when Chile hosts a summit meeting on January 26 and 27 among 43 heads of government from Latin America and the European Union, including Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain, and presidents Dilma Rousseff of Brazil and Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico.

President Sebastián Piñera sees the gathering as a watershed in relations between the Old and New Worlds. “The fact that Europe is in recession and that most of Latin America has been growing over the last few years makes this summit quite different from previous ones,” Piñera told Institutional Investor in an interview at La Moneda, the presidential palace in downtown Santiago. “We are no longer asking for aid. We want more free trade. Many Latin American companies are investing in Europe, rather than just the reverse.” ....

Read More: Latin America · Chile · Sebastian Piñera